Great Lakes wolves up for hunting season

WILDLIFE

Associated Press

Updated 11:35 pm, Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Photo: Carrie Antlfinger, Associated Press

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

A timber wolf named Comet is seen at the Timber Wolf Preservation Society Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 in Greendale, Wis. Federal officials removed Great Lakes wolves from the endangered species list in January. Given free rein to manage the species, Wisconsin and Minnesota lawmakers pushed aside the concerns of some environmentalists and established their first seasons allowing hunters to bait, shoot and trap wolves. The society opposes the hunts. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger) less

A timber wolf named Comet is seen at the Timber Wolf Preservation Society Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 in Greendale, Wis. Federal officials removed Great Lakes wolves from the endangered species list in January. ... more

Photo: Carrie Antlfinger, Associated Press

Great Lakes wolves up for hunting season

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Madison, Wis. --

For years, vacationers and farmers across northern Wisconsin and Minnesota have heard the eerie howl of the gray wolf and fretted the creatures were lurking around their cabins and pastures. The tables are about to turn there.

Farmers in all three states have long complained about wolves wreaking havoc on their livestock. Beginning next week, Wisconsin and then Minnesota will allow hunters to bait, shoot and trap wolves. Wisconsin also will allow night hunting and the use of dogs. Michigan's hunt legislation still is pending.

Joe Caputo, 50, of Spring Green, Wis., won a permit in his state. A lifelong deer hunter, he's boning up on wolves, preparing to drop more than $3,000 on two dozen new wolf traps and seeking out northern Wisconsin landowners who have suffered wolf depredation.

"This is the ultimate challenge," Caputo said. "You're talking the largest-scale predator on the landscape."

Beverly Kiger, a Grand Rapids, Minn.-based, trophy hunter who has bagged a wildebeest and an impala in South Africa, bought her wolf permit the same day she discovered she'd won one. She wants to add a full-size wolf mount to her collection. She plans to start scouting for wolf signs, perhaps around her cabin in far northeastern Minnesota.

Now Playing:

"To get a (wolf) as a trophy would be awesome," she said.

Wolves are mostly nocturnal, and they're dispersed over a wide range, making the chances of encountering one remote. They're extremely smart, too. If one wolf is killed, the others in its pack can become even more cautious. And their sense of smell is so keen that trappers boil their snares to eliminate any human scent.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.